Main menu

The Official Blog of Author James Fadeley

Tag Archives: agent

It’s Friday so I thought I would unwind with a few off-the-cuff thoughts on events as of late.

First, I’ve been getting started on the new novels I’ve always wanted to write. There is something new in the works for The Banner Saga. I can’t talk about it too much— the ink’s not dry and I’m leaving room for changes, but it is about 20% complete. This particular work isn’t a sequel to The Gift of Hadrborg, but that door isn’t close either.

I’ve also gotten started on the research for another, original title… it has no name, but it is a horror novel with a unique setting. It’s been years since I’ve written in the genre, and my approach pretty offbeat. Less gore, zombies, and bodily horror. More existentialism, psychology and ghosts.

Still, I must admit to being apprehensive: there’s a great section in Writer’s Digest that outlines dozens of potential literary agents. The problem is that the majority of them flat out say that they’re just not interested in horror.

Genre fiction is generally stiff-armed, but horror is singled out. I imagine it has the same problems other genres do: rehashing of old tropes, the same recycled ideas. Likewise, there’s also the risk that a submitted novel is just “murder porn” or a thinly veiled revenge piece (which can open the door to some real problems).

And then there’s misunderstanding about what attracts people to horror. The fans do tend to congregate around particular communities, and they have their own views about what’s good and not. The problem is it can be hard to tell what’s good-good and what’s so-bad-it’s-good. Is a line truly terrible or is it purple prose? Is it unreadable, or by some occult hand would it become celebrated and cherished? That’s a heavy question for an agent.

Agent hunting is a sign that I’m really starting to “get serious” about publishing. Sure, many small and medium sized publishers are happy to host the open door submissions policy. But lately there seems to be backtracking from the practice, likely as they discovered the deluge wasn’t worth it. Convincing one person your book can sell is often the right first step.

How about that blog?

So things are changing this year for the blog. While writing remains the number one focus, keeping up with general pop culture and entertainment is gaining ground. Expect more retweets, more current topics and more thematic changes.